Through the Concrete
by TheTornPage
Summary: This is a prequel to the story "Feelings to Love" RaphxOC : Amber is alone and afraid, trying not to scream as she blocks out the sounds of the city; a voice distracts her.


Raphael x OC

-So this is a slight continuation of the first Raph One Shot I wrote, but it's more along the lines of a prequel-

Title: Through the concrete

Pairing: Raphael x Amber(OC)

Universe: 2k14

Rating: PG (it's really fluffy nothing bad)

Summary: This is a story of a girl who climbed down her fire escape to escape her parents and heard a voice through the concrete.

Through The Concrete

I never understood the appeal of New York City, in my opinion it was a dirty city filled with dirty people. The air was muggy, the weather was unpredictable, and every part of town was the bad part of town. You couldn't trust an alleyway no matter the time of day. If you saw a man run off with a woman's purse no one would make a move to stop the thief, people here didn't care as long as the situation didn't affect them. Honestly I was furious when my parents decided to move here all the way from LA. I missed the constant warmth of the sun, palm trees, smell of the ocean wherever you went, the people in shorts and strappy sandals. The thing I missed most of all, my parents getting along.

My mother was an Actress, had a spot on a popular TV show until a scandal leaked that she had been sleeping with one of the producers. My father made his money as a musician manager, taking care of auditions and scheduling shows. The moment the scandal was posted in the magazines and my mother's integrity was questioned, my father defended her. Only for it to be discovered by a tabloid, that she truly had been sneaking around and the man was married. Being bombarded by cameras 24/7 with paparazzi try to get the latest insight on the affair, my father made the choice to pack our things up and move across the country to New York. Uprooting my life and forcing me into a new one, nothing like the one I grew up in.

If my father wasn't drowning his sorrows in drink he was screaming at my mother, using foul names I don't dare repeat. My mother ran about the city trying to revive her ruined reputation, doing small commercials and endorsements.

We moved into a shitty apartment on June sixth 2006, being the beginning of summer I didn't have the chance to go to school and make friends in this new city. The other children in our building had heard of my parents and poked fun at me every chance they got. It was easier to sit in my room and pretend my parents weren't shouting at each other so loudly I could hear them over my headphones.

The move was exactly three weeks ago today. Sitting on my single bed spring mattress I fiddle with the string of my pajama bottoms, avoiding having to leave the room and face the life I now live. Usually in the morning I would pretend to sleep late, hiding in my bed into the early afternoon. That inclined missing breakfast, sometimes lunch, and I never dared to go out for dinner. My parent's civility was gone, even when it came to me. Missing so many meals was taking its toll on my body, I was absurdly thin, didn't have the energy of the average nine year old. Sucking in a breath of bravery I stood up from my bed, slip on my pink slippers and slide out into the hallway. I look both ways checking for any signs of danger. I couldn't hear anything, not even the buzz of a TV. I take the chance to run into the kitchen, no one is there, not the living room either. A rare smile creases my cheeks and I excitedly reach up for the box of lucky charms, before I even have a chance to grab it I hear something behind me. I glance back and find my mother, cigarette between her red painted lips.

"What are you doing up?" She questions me as if it's against the rules for me to leave my bedroom.

I make myself smile at her, force myself to pretend we are back at our condo in LA, that she and my father aren't at each other's throats every day. "Making some breakfast. Do you want some?"

My mother rolls her eyes and puffs her cigarette. "What makes you think you can do that without asking me first?"

My fingers recoil from the cardboard box curling back into my palm. "Oh." I whisper. "Uhm, can I have some cereal for breakfast please?" The voice that comes from my mouth isn't mine; it's that of a child whose spirit has finally been broken. There's no hope for things to go back to normal. Everything is broken. Can't be fixed. I can't hide in my room and ignore the screams, pretend its okay.

She cocks a brow in a mocking manner, takes the final drag of her cancer stick. "You're useless. Eating up all the food I pay for without a single thank you." She walks closer to me, gripping my arm tightly and pulling me harshly to her side. "Ungrateful children need to be punished."

I don't believe my eyes as I follow the cigarette in her hand, it rises up to my face and is promptly pressed against my skin. A scream tears through my throat. I fight against her grip trying to get away from the searing pain of the bud being extinguished against my skin. She holds firm, I know there will be bruises on my arm from where she's gripping me. But that doesn't compare to the scar this burn will leave in its wake. The saltiness of my tears falling onto the abused skin only worsens the pain. She finally releases me, tossing the bud on the floor and with both hands she shoves me to the floor. "Get out of here!" She shouts at me. I don't need to be told twice. With a hand covering the open wound on my cheek I rush to the window with the fire escape landing. It takes all my strength to wiggle the old window high enough to get myself through. Panic fueling me I speed down the steps, tripping several times on my way down, ripping my Pj pants and gaining a few scratches on my arms. When I reach the ground I collapse on the concrete of the back ally, curling up into a ball up against the building as I cry. My sobs echo off the walls of the alley. The thick muggy air surrounds me and I welcome it like a hug, covering my head with my arms I press my face into the concrete shielding myself from the world.

"Are you okay?"

The voice startles me and I let out a squeal in fear, cowering closer to the wall.

"No seriously, are you okay up there?"

Up? Up where? I'm on the ground. I lift one of my arms so I can peer around the alley and finding myself alone. "Where are you?" I let out a series of wet coughs, tears still pouring down my face. "Are you going to hurt me?"

"Well I don't plan to. I'm below you, under the ground. And you still didn't answer me, are you okay?"

There's no possible way anyone is under the ground talking to me, I shake my head and consider is a coping mechanism of my own fear and imagination. "I'm not okay!" I cry out, opening my mouth so widely tears the scab that had been forming on my cheek and I cry out again. "I didn't do anything wrong!"

"What happened?"

It's hard to talk with the panic still causing my body to tremble like a leaf in the breeze. "My momma... she... she... I don't know!" Tears run down my face faster, big fat drops splattering against the ground. The look on her face as she smiled down at me while she inflicted such pain on her own daughter... There was no love left for me in her heart.

The sound of metal distracted me but I didn't dare look over with the fear it might be my mother coming down the very fire escape I had descended myself. The assumption caused me to tighten my grip on myself and cry even harder. "Please don't hurt me anymore!" I scream as loudly as I can. Maybe if someone heard me they could help me, could stop my mother.

"Oh crap!" The voice sounded closer, a lot closer. It wasn't my imagination, and it certainly wasn't my mother. "I can't just leave you here... Hold on for just a few seconds I'm gonna go get Leo!"

It was silent for a few seconds, just the sounds of my sobs and sniffling. Then heavy footsteps beside me. I gripped my hair in panic, so afraid whoever was above me was about to strike down on me.

"No, we aren't gonna hurt you kid." That voice was different then the first one I heard.

"Do you think master would get mad if we brought her back home?" It was the first voice again.

"It's not like we have much of a choice, she's obviously in shock and is hurt. What kind of ninjas would we be if we left her here?"

"Well then let's get her to Splinter; he should know how to help."

Whoever it was reached down and attempted to lift me up, I screamed and swatted their hands away. "No! No! No!" My new underground companion easily held my hands together with one hand and lifted me with the other. His fingers don't feel right; they were too wide, only three. I assume him to be a boy with how deep his voice was, older than me as well. He tugs me up into his arms and holds me like a prince would a princess. His chest doesn't feel right either, it's not covered with a shirt, much too hard and hardly smooth like skin; it's rough and feels like small grain sandpaper. The deformities keep me from opening my eyes, it just adds to how scared I am already.

"Seriously Leo something bad must have happened, look at her face." The one holding me says. He must see the burn my mother gave me.

I feel a finger against my chin, it tilts my head to the side and the second boy gasps. "Oh crap there's a hole in it!"

"Do you think dad can fix it?"

"I don't know, maybe. Hopefully."

Whoever is holding me begins to walk, just a few steps before there's a drop off and my stomach lurches painfully with nausea. It's over quickly and we're back on solid ground, the smell that emits from the humid space is worse than the New York streets, but for some reason it comforts me; knowing I'm separate from them now. The strangers who have taken me into their care begin walking again; I still refuse to open my eyes. Their track to whatever they call home takes a little more than five minutes.

"You're gonna have to stand for a second so I can hand you down to Leo." The one holding tells me in a gruff voice. "Don't freak out if you open your eyes."

He gently sets me down on the ground, keeping his hands on my side to hold me up; I open my eyes and blink blearily adjusting them to the low lighting. I can't see the boy behind me but I can feel his hands on my sides, they aren't human hands. Two fingers against my waist and a thumb pressing into my back. I gulp down my fear and look through the tunnel opening before me, a few feet below the opening is a creature. It looks like a boy, possibly a foot taller than me; only… He has scaly green skin and what looks like a turtle shell on his back. He's reaching up to me, expecting me to jump down so he can catch me. I inhale sharply and try to prevent myself from hyperventilating. _It's okay. _I say to myself. _They aren't trying to hurt you. So what if he looks like a giant turtle, he's not burning a hole in your face. _Nodding to myself I lean forwards to fall through the opening, the turtle boy catches me with ease and sets me down as the boy who had been carrying me jumps down as well. The one standing before me is taller than the one beside me. He's got a bandana around his head, baggy jeans covering his legs. His body is bigger than mine, quite a bit taller than me.

No longer crying, I cough to clear my clogged throat. "Uhm, thank you..." My voice is scratchy and raw it's hurts when I talk, having to open my mouth hurts my cheek. I use my tongue to prod the inside of my cheek beneath the burn, my tongue slips through a hole. I scream in fright covering the hole in my cheek with my hands.

The taller one steps up to me and puts his hands on my shoulders. "You get freaked out over a hole in your face but not a giant turtle?"

Shaking my head I try to fight back the tears of pain, not fear. "You aren't gonna hurt me."

"Course not." The turtle smiles at me and squeezes my shoulders in a comforting gesture. "You're safe here."

The turtle next to me chortles. "Someone's going soft."

His eyes shift away from mine and up to the other. "Would you shut up Leo?"

"Leo?" I ask softly.

Realization flashes in his eyes for a moment and he smiles at me again. "Oh yeah, this is my brother Leonardo. I'm Raphael."

"The artists'?" Original names I suppose.

"Yeah pretty much, there's also Donatello and Michelangelo. But you can meet them later; right now we need to get Dad to look at that cheek." He moves my hand away from my face to examine the wound. "What did this anyways?"

My body shudders at the memory. "My mom." I choke out. "I just wanted breakfast...and she got mad at me for some reason... I don't think she loves me anymore." I stare down at the floor with an empty gaze. She doesn't love me anymore. Can I even go back home? She told me to get out; does that mean I can go back? Do I even want to go back?

I'm forced out of my thoughts by Raphael pulling on my arm. "Come on, Dad's this way."

Raphael drops my arm and instead grabs my hand; Leonardo walks beside his brother with a smug smirk on his lips. I don't exactly know what to say so I keep my mouth shut and observe the open area they've brought me to. There are Christmas lights strung up in massive clumps to suffice as lamps, a few couches that look as if they were left on the side of the road after someone couldn't get the wine stain of the cushion. On one side of the room there's a long table with a few chairs surrounding it, behind the table is a rather large fridge, stove top and oven, along with an old kitchen island. The whole set up is almost more surprising then the giant life-sized turtles. I'm led into another part of the space, weapons are displayed on the surrounding walls and sitting in the center of the room is a rat. I recoil slightly, I've never been fond of mice, rats or really anything that hid in my kitchen cupboards. Raphael takes notice of my hesitation and urges me forwards.

"Sensei," Leonardo bows slightly to the rat. "We've got a bit of a problem."

The rat doesn't move an inch, his left ear twitches slightly and his shoulders rise and fall with the tempo of his breath. "I see you've brought company. Why did you bring a girl down here?"

My eyes widen in surprise, he hadn't even turned to face me. How'd he know I was here? Or that I was a girl?!

Raphael tightens his grip on my hand and somehow his hold makes the throbbing pain in my cheek lessen. "I found her on the surface; she was screaming and having a panic attack. Turns out she was being abused." Raphael glances at me over his shoulder. "She says it was her mom."

"Ah." The rat gets to his feet and finally faces us. For a rat, he's got a gentle face with subtle features that make him seem trustworthy. It makes him look like a dad, a dad that cares. "You must be very frightened then. Parents can be fickle at times. I promise your safety here."

"She's hurt pretty bad. She's got a hole in her face." Leo points to the injury.

I find it rude that I'm constantly referring to the father figure before me as _the rat _so I tug on the hand Raphael has wrapped around mine. He looks back at me curiously. "What's his name?"

"Dad? His name's Splinter." Raphael tells me.

Splinter looks over at his sons then approaches me and looks over my cheek. "You can see her teeth; it cut all the way through the skin into her mouth."

"Burned." I corrected. They all gave me questioning looks. "My mother decided to use me as her new ash tray." The pain had ebbed into a dull throbbing, it was tolerable.

Splinter's face was one of shock and horror, Leo's mirroring. But Raphael's, his face twisted in fury and disgust. "She did what?" Splinter and Raphael spit the words out with the same distaste in sync.

I poke at the skin below the hole. "Yeah she used her cigarette, just kind held it there until the ashes went out. Then she pushed me down pretty hard and yelled at me to get out." I picked at the scabs that had formed on my arms from the fire escape. "I ripped my pants on the metal of the fire escape, that's where all the scrapes came from too." The three of them gapped at me like the words coming out of my mouth were too terrible to find true. And they are walking, talking, turtles. "It's not as bad as it seems, I think. I hear most abuse cases are much more severe. I'm pretty sure I bruised so easily because I haven't eaten properly since we moved here." I examined the dark black fingerprint bruises on my right arm and cringe. "These look really disgusting. I don't think I want to see my face."

Raphael is quick to respond to my statement. "Your face still looks fine; you'll have one hell of a scar though." When he sees my frown he shakes his head and squeezes my hand again. "No, I think scars are cute! Wait- We should take her to Donnie and see if he can patch this up."

He suddenly moves away from Splinter and Leo, swings me around with him as he walks off. We end up in a room full of old computer monitors and several empty cans of monster scattered around. There's another turtle, shorter the Raphael, taller than Leonardo. He's got thick framed glasses barely balancing on the end of his nose while he intently stares down a virtual foe on what looks like the new update of World of Warcraft. Raphael bangs a fist against the wall of the room and the smaller turtle nearly jumps out of his skin, or well shell.

He turns to face Raphael and then back to the computer screen when a noise sounds from the game. "Damn it Raph! I was about to level up! Now I have to start over. Wait- is that a human?" He pulls his glasses off and wipes them clean with his tee shirt, placing them back on his face. "Why is a human female down here?"

"I found her outside one of the tunnels screaming and crying." Raphael walks further into the room leading me with him.

Donatello observes me like a science experiment, a specimen he's never come across. "And your natural instinct was to bring her here? What does master think about this?"

"Master thinks you should fix her." He turns my face to the side, revealing the wound. Donatello gasps. "Can you fix it Donnie?"

Donnie pokes at the surrounding skin with a calculating look on his face. After a few minutes of turning my head side to side and tilting it every which way, he sighs. "Yeah, I can't stitch it. I think it needs to be grafted… I don't really have the tools to do that so the best we can do is pad it up until the skin grows back. Until it's grown all the way back I'll have to keep a close eye on it to make sure it doesn't get infected or fester. Festering would mean she'd need a hospital, well, more than she needs one now." Donnie gives me a friendly smile when he lets go of my face. "It might take a while for me to get everything I need to patch it correctly. I'll go out with Leo and see what I can find, in the meantime just stay put. I have some basic pain killers that should stave off a fever and help you out until I get everything I need." Donnie looks away from me and up to his brother. "Have Mikey bring me some _clean _hot water and some astringent. You go and get Leo so we can go ahead and go to the surface."

Raphael lays a hand on my shoulder; I raise my gaze to meet his. "I'll be right back, okay?"

I nod my head thinking just how insane this type of situation was. How is any of this possible? "Yeah, I'm good." I try to sound nonchalant.

My turtle savior smile puts me at ease and he quickly leaves the room.

Donatello, still sitting in front of me, pulls me down into another chair next to his. "I bet you're a bit more then freaked out." He nudges his glasses back up his face. "Just in case you're wondering, we're mutants. A lab experiment gone wrong- technically right but it's a long story and I'll spare you." He snorts dorkily, and then frowns at me. "It's not just the hole, is it?" He reaches a hand towards my arm, gliding rough fingertips gently across the bruises. "The type of force it requires to create black bruises is the same force of falling out of a second story window." Donnie trails his hand down my arm to my wrists. "Look at that, even Raph left some bruises. Do you suffer from anemia, perhaps malnutrition? You appear to show premature signs of Anorexia."

"No, no, no, no, no. Nope, I'm not anorexic! I eat all the time! Well, used to eat all the time." My throat starts to itch, still damaged by my screaming. I cough and try to clear some of the obstruction away; it still leaves my voice hoarse. "I haven't really eaten much because my parents are always arguing. It makes walking around the house near impossible. They've never actually hurt me until today… It was so strange; I hadn't done anything to set her off. I just went to get some breakfast… She was perfectly composed when she stabbed that stupid cigarette against my face. Like it was a completely normal thing to do, no remorse at all."

Donnie rested his hands against my knees. "Hey, it's alright now. You're safe here." He has the gentlest smile I've ever seen on anyone. It brings a smile to my own face, small as to not over stretch my skin. "Oh gosh! Has anyone even bothered to ask you what your name is?"

I latch onto my lower lip with my teeth to keep myself from laughing, little puff of breath escaping my nose instead. "I'm Amber. Amber Michaels."

He extends a hand out to me in a gesture of a handshake, I take it. "Well Amber Michaels, it's a pleasure to meet you. Honestly you're the first human I've ever met, and I never thought I'd meet one under these types of circumstances." Donatello scratches the back of his head nervously. "Let alone a girl."

"Got your order of hot water right here Donnie!" I look over my shoulder and there's an even shorter turtle! Possibly, only a few inches taller than me. "Woah! Raph didn't tell me it was a chick!"

"Keep it in your shell Mikey. This is Amber and she's had a bad enough morning, we don't need to add to her trauma with your inappropriate humor." Donatello is fast to respond to his brother. "Now shut up and bring me the water."

Mikey mocks his brother with a childish 'nan na na' before actually giving Donnie the water. "Sheesh, what's the big deal anywa- holy crap is that an actual hole in her face?" Mikey gaps at me with wide eyes. "Wicked awesome home girl."

I shake my head amusedly. "Not exactly the word I would use but, whatever works."

Donatello dips a rag I hadn't noticed before into the bowl of water. "This is gonna sting a little." I brace myself for the pain and give him a curt nod, ready. He leans close to my face, rag in hand, and gently dabs it around the opening in my cheek. It doesn't hurt that badly until the rough fabric of the rag comes into contact with the abused skin. I suck in a gasp and try not to squeal. "Sorry." Donnie whispers but doesn't pull the rag away. "I'm almost done."

"I got the pain killers and Leo is ready to go whenever you are." Raphael is back; he walks over to us and sets down the bottle of advil. When I can see his face out of the corner of my eye, I see a dejected look upon his face. Sadness knitting his brows together and forming creases in his forehead.

Mikey, who is still standing next to Donnie, grins over at Raphael. "She's cute dude."

I can feel my cheeks flush bright red, Donnie must see the change in my skin tone because he smirks slightly but doesn't say anything. "Would you shut up Mikey, she's sitting right here." Raphael scolds his brother. "Plus look how little she is, she's probably not even ten yet."

Donnie pulls the rag away; I tilt my head up to Raphael with a pout. "I'll be ten in August!"

"See, she's nine." Raphael crosses his arms and looks as if he's proven a point.

I look to Donnie confusedly. He shakes his head at his brothers. "We're eleven, or at least that's how long it's been since the accident."

I let that statement sink in. Accident. These creatures, turtles. "What kind of accident was it?"

Raphael hangs his head and doesn't answer my question. Donnie however, seems more than happy to share. "We were a part of a science experiment, project renaissance. They were trying to make something out of a mutagen, we were the test subjects. After a fire broke out in the lab we were housed in, we wound up here. And our humanoid characteristics are a product of the mutagen." Donnie gets out of his computer chair and nods to Raph. "I'll head out now, shouldn't take long to round up what I need. See you soon Amber."

A smile finds my lips as Donnie pats my shoulder; I whisper a goodbye before he leaves and now it's just Raphael, Mikey and I. Mikey steps around Raphael and plops down on a bean bag chair on the floor. "Sooo seems like you're gonna be hangin here for a while."

Raphael holds out two of the clear blue gel capsules. "Take these, I don't think we should give you anything to drink though."

"Yeah it'll just fall right out the hole!" Mikey barks out a laugh.

Which is promptly greeted with a glare from Raphael. "Would you shut it Mikey we get it."

I smile at the pair of them, a sibling quarrel. I always wanted siblings and now I'm thankful I was never graced with any. I take the pills from his hand and swallow them dry, it takes a few gulps for them to go all the way down but I manage. "Thank you Raphael." I say to him.

He scratches the back of his head with a tiny smile. "No problem, uh Amber."

"You guys seem to have quite the set up down here." I state as I look around Donnie's room. "So much stuff, more than I've got now. I used to have loads more stuff before we moved here."

Mikey leans forward in the beanbag. "How do we have more? Don't you live in like- a house?"

I shake my head sadly. "Not anymore. I used to have a mansion, my own limo and driver, a piano as big as a car! I would play it every day-" I stop talking and I'm struck with realization for the second time today. "My life will never be the same again." I'm in a sewer with mutant turtles, a hole burned into my cheek, and torn pajamas. I take a few deep breaths to steady myself, then chose to move on. I can't fix it, so I shouldn't try. "I'm hungry."

Mikey laughs uncontrollably and grips his sides. "Oh my god! Man this chick is great. I've got some cold pizza left over from dinner. Want some?" He stops laughing and smiles encouragingly at me. "It's triple cheese."

"Right now I think I'd eat anything." I giggle softly.

Even though it hurts I hold my palm over the opening in my cheek and eat five pieces of pizza.

Donatello arrives back with Leo a few minutes after I finish my last piece. "Not proud to say we took most of this stuff out of the back of an ambulance."

Leo nudges his brother with his elbow. "Shut up. Master would be so angry if he found out."

Donnie holds his hands up in defense. "Well I figured it was better than letting infection consume her face and possibly killing her." Donnie has what looks like a bright red medical kit, which is most likely what came out of the ambulance. He pulls something out of Leo's hand and I see it's a syringe. "This is morphine; it'll make this a lot easier. I also swiped a bottle of Klonopin, you aren't allergic are you?" I shake my head, honestly I'd never heard of it. "Okay, good. Might want to hold onto something, this is gonna hurt." He lifts the syringe to my face and I flail my arm back behind me searching for something to hold onto. A hand grips mine and I don't hesitate to squeeze it tightly. Donnie's left hand holds my face steady as he pokes the needle into the skin of my cheek bone. It feels like hot water seeping into my skin, slowly cooling as it crawls throughout my face. My hand tightens around who ever I'm grasping and I let out the breath I'd been holding, the pain finally gone. "That should do it." He sets the syringe on the table and digs through the med kit. "Since we don't have skin grafts, and I am not qualified to do that kind of procedure anyways. We are going to use these." He tears a package and pulls out a pad of gauze that's wet and tinted yellow. He lays the fabric over the wound, then another one on top of it and tops it with a thick patch of white cotton. It's all held in place by strips of medical tape. "That does it for the top side. Now for the inside. I have an idea that we can roll up little strips of gauze, coat them with this oral triple antibiotic, and stuff them against your teeth like a dentist would do."

"Just do it Donnie." Raph grunts from behind me.

Donatello smiles at me. "Well okay then, take two of these first." He sets two pills on my tongue and tips a glass of water in along with them; they leave a powdery taste on my tongue and makes me make a sour face. "Haha that's adorable. Those are sedatives, it'll help you sleep and in about four hours I'll wake you up so we can do this all over again!" He laughs happily. "I've always wanted to try being a doctor!"

"Stop nerding out and get it done." I glance back at Raphael, wondering what got him in such a foul mood. But it's him who has my hand. And not only am I holding his hand, he's got his two fingers wrapped around my wrist and it swells my heart with comfort and safety.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah I got it Raph." Donnie forces my face back to his and pulls my jaw down, stuffing my right cheek with the rolled gauze.

Mikey laughs from beside me and pats my arm. "We'll fix you right up little chipmunk."

"I'd say she's more of a squirrel." Leonardo pokes fun at me with a smile.

"Guys, you're both wrong." Raphael snorts. "She looks like a beaver."

_"__Amber!" _

I shake my head. "Wha- Oh. Raph. Hey." I look around the room, it's his bedroom I must've fallen asleep waiting for him to get back. "What time did you get back?"

With one of his rare smiles he steps into the room, rids himself of his leather back straps and knee pads. "Just now. I didn't know you were coming today."

I fall back against the mattress and flop my arms over my face. "I wasn't planning today but I woke up sick this morning and I can't afford to go to a doctor so here I am." I really hadn't planned to come, I had made the trek to the minor emergency care clinic to check myself in a maybe get a Z-pac but the line was way too long and looking through my purse I realized I'd blown my last paycheck on Mikey's birthday present. "That damn Mikey has bankrupted me once again."

"We told you over and over that you didn't have to get him anything else, buying dinner for all of us was enough." Raph rolls his shoulders forwards and backwards, and cracks his neck side to side.

"I owed you guys though." I say with a heavy sigh.

Raphael groans annoyed, I always brought up the debt I owed the boys. They'd saved my life all those years ago. He grips my forearms and they are pulled away from my face, Raph looms over me with his lips straight lined. "Would you cut it out, that was seven fucking years ago. By now I'm sure I owe you something." He releases my arms and instead of them falling to my sides they instinctively drift to rest on his shoulders. One of his hands caresses the right side of my face, thumb grazing the bright pink circular scar there. A continuous reminder of just how frightening my childhood was, how much worse it got after the first instance of abuse from my mother, it lead to more serious attacks. But, a trip down the fire escape and Donnie would be here to patch me up and Raphael would always be there to hold my hand when I was scared.

"I love it when you don't wear makeup." He whispers like a secret in the space between us. "I've always thought scars were cute."

"Same." I giggle and raise a hand to skim my fingertips over one scar on his upper lip. Given to him by a bad fight with Leonardo a few years back.

Raphael's smile widens the slightest bit and he swoops down to press his lips against the scar. He places a series of feather light pecks on the smooth skin there, I gasp at the all too familiar feeling but still just as precious gesture of affection. His lips creep across my face to my lower lip, my eyes fall closed as does my mouth as I anticipate a kiss but he pulls back. Instead, settling a gentle kiss on the tip of my nose. "You know I'll always be here to take care of you."

Keeping my eyes closed, just having him this close to me makes my fingers dig deeper into the muscled flesh of his shoulders. "I know, you always have." The sensation of his lips finally falling against mine causes me to suck in a gasp of emotion. This boy drives my senses crazy, sets my brain to mush and brings me to the brink of insanity. The kiss is slow, treasured, and passionate. Our transition from friends to so much more then friends was almost as easy as breathing. It was as if nothing changed except us being fully aware of the others emotions, if anything it made things more natural. As our mouths move one of my hands travels down to grip his bicep, the other moving to tickle the sensitive skin where his neck met his shell. Raphael separates our lips with a breathy chuckle. "That's not fair." "Totally fair." I rebuke just as breathlessly. "Oh yeah?" He challenges me. The hand that was once on my face drags down my neck, teasingly past my chest and rests against the base of my rib cage. I gasp. "No Raph! Don't. No, please no don't tickle me." He glares down playfully at me. "Then don't tickle me, all's fair in love and war." "That has nothing to do with a tickle fight. And last time we had one you broke my nose." I whine mournfully, my nose is still slightly crooked from the altercation. Raphael groans and presses his forehead against mine, nuzzling the side of my nose in an apologetic way. "I have said sorry a million times, and it was an accident." I nuzzle him back, giving his cheek a kiss. "Let's just not tickle each other. Ever again. For our own safety, mainly mine." He nods in agreement. "Yeah." "Good. Now that that's been handled, why aren't you kissing me?" I twist my face to the side and rejoin our lips with a smile.

So like this is longer than I had expected, but I thought it was cute. Oh and side note- I had two turtles growing up as a kid, Raphael and Stitch. Raphael was ticklish and would bite me when I messed with the back of his neck. So yeah, figured I'd toss that in. Thanks for reading ^~^


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